Horse Trek in Glenorchy

Well, Mom got here and we started our adventure with no time to waste! The day after she arrived in Wellington we got right on a plane and flew to the bottom of the South Island to Queenstown.  The following day we drove to Glenorchy for a horse trek!

Behind us is Lake Wakatipu, in Queenstown.

When the horse trek started, the clouds were completely covering the mountains.  As the trek went on though, we saw the clouds rise and reveal these incredible mountains!

Above are the "Misty Mountains" used in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Later that day we rode a Gondola up a mountain overlooking Queenstown.  The view is absolutely stunning!

The last time I was in Queenstown all the mountains were snowcapped and it was below freezing out.  Now most of the snow is gone off the mountains and it gets to be around 75 degrees!